The Driveways That Ate the Parking Spaces

The construction of two houses with driveways has infuriated residents in a neighborhood starved for parking.Credit
George M. Gutierrez for The New York Times

THERE are driveways in Throgs Neck in the Bronx, and most of them are slim lanes that fit inconspicuously amid the leafy neighborhood’s low-slung houses and neatly laid out sidewalks.

Then there are the driveways for which concrete was poured last week in front of two new rosy brick homes sharing a lot at the corner of Waterbury and Mayflower Avenues. One driveway is six feet wide, but the other is a gaping 17 feet wide, with a telephone pole in the middle that is to be moved. With their wide entrances at the curb, they would eliminate some much-needed street parking in the neighborhood.

The construction on the lot has infuriated some neighbors, who say the developer is skirting zoning regulations and is building structures far too big for the property.

“They’ve used every excuse under the sun,” said Ralph Elio, a 66-year-old computer technician on disability, standing near the fresh gray concrete across the street from his home. “All we’re asking is to show how this is legal and we’ll leave you alone.”

Ryan Pedram, the developer of the homes, contends that the driveways are legal, as is everything else about the pair of two-family houses he constructed there, each with two stories, a cellar and a basement that is mostly above ground. Zoning regulations require an off-street parking space for each dwelling unit.

“These are 100 percent kosher plans approved by the Buildings Department,” said Mr. Pedram, vice president of Affordable Development, based in Flushing, Queens. “I’m not in business to do anything illegal.”

Mr. Pedram added that he believed that the neighbors’ real concern was that the houses would become subsidized housing, though they were advertised for sale last week in The Bronx Penny Pincher at $719,000 each.

“Let’s put it this way: They don’t want the neighborhood to be changed,” he said.

Neighbors on Waterbury and Mayflower acknowledged that subsidized housing was part of their concern, but they said that they had filed dozens of complaints about possible zoning and building violations since construction began in June.

A handful of violations and stop-work orders have been issued by the city’s Buildings Department, mostly related to inadequate fencing around the site, but work has legally resumed in each case.

“Clearly, it appears to be an unpopular site,” said Ilyse Fink, a department spokeswoman. “But looking at most of the complaints, we’ve been there numerous times and they’re just not founded.”

The neighbors, however, are still bristling.

“People in this community aren’t happy,” said Steven Schilling, a 39-year-old electrician who has lived in Throgs Neck all his life. “You shouldn’t be able to make this. You should tear it down and put a nice one-family house here.” JENNIFER BLEYER

A version of this article appears in print on , on page CY5 of the National edition with the headline: The Driveways That Ate the Parking Spaces. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe